King's Kremer leads conference, earns two POW honors

King's Summer Kremer, a former volleyball standout at West Henderson High, earned her second player-of-the-week award from Conference Carolinas.

Arlyn Kimbrough/ KING COLLEGE ATHLETICS

By Brittany JacksonTimes-News Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, September 25, 2013 at 9:38 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, September 25, 2013 at 9:38 p.m.

Former West Henderson volleyball standout Summer Kremer transferred to King College just in time for the start of the 2012 volleyball season, and it has proved to be one of the best decisions she could've made.

She was named the team MVP at the end of the season, much to her pleasant surprise.

And now, in her junior season, Kremer is still producing greatness, leading her collegiate conference in kills on the season (150) as well as kills per set (3.26).

Fittingly, on Tuesday the 5-9 outside hitter received a double honor when she was named Player of the Week not once but twice, both for Conference Carolinas and the Tennessee Sportswriters Association.

"I was really surprised; I knew that I had a good game on Friday (against Belmont Abbey) but didn't know it was good enough to be recognized for two Players of the Week; it's awesome to see people recognizing my success and the success of my team," Kremer said.

"I thought last week was just a lot of fun; we took down the No. 1 team in our conference, Belmont Abbey, and just mentally I was ready to go out there and put balls down because I knew they were going to be a good team."

Last week Kremer, a 2010 West graduate, tallied 47 kills in three matches, averaging 3.92 kills per set — and all three matches were victories for King College. Two of the matches, against Belmont Abbey and Pfeiffer, were the conference openers for the Tornado, who are on an eight-match winning streak.

She put down 14 kills and five digs in a 3-2 victory at Virginia-Wise and followed that with 20 kills and eight digs against CC preseason No. 1 Belmont Abbey before getting 13 kills (just two hitting errors) in a 3-0 sweep of Pfeiffer.

"Last year I had no clue what my role was going to be since I had taken a year off. I was worried about getting into the flow of things again but once I was midway through the season and having a good amount of success, it was neat to have that and feel like I was one of the go-to people on that team," Kremer said.

Being named MVP of the 2012 season as a sophomore has motivated Kremer to continue to improve in her junior year, as the Tornado were ranked second in the preseason behind Belmont Abbey.

"I felt pressure coming into this year because last year was so successful, so I'm still just working hard at practice to improve," Kremer said. "Another one of our outside hitters is stepping up, too, so we're almost fighting for that go-to position but it's making me work harder to keep that role."

Next up for the Tornado (10-3, 2-0 CC) is a trip to Erskine in South Carolina on Friday, then a tri-match with North Greenville and Clark Atlanta on Saturday.

"We always talk about goals during our preseason retreat, and a lot of us listed one of our goals as winning conference," Kremer said. "We only lost one player from last season, so we have pretty much the same team plus a few added on that have really added to it so far. So hopefully that will push us through the top."

<p>Former West Henderson volleyball standout Summer Kremer transferred to King College just in time for the start of the 2012 volleyball season, and it has proved to be one of the best decisions she could've made. </p><p>She was named the team MVP at the end of the season, much to her pleasant surprise. </p><p>And now, in her junior season, Kremer is still producing greatness, leading her collegiate conference in kills on the season (150) as well as kills per set (3.26). </p><p>Fittingly, on Tuesday the 5-9 outside hitter received a double honor when she was named Player of the Week not once but twice, both for Conference Carolinas and the Tennessee Sportswriters Association. </p><p>"I was really surprised; I knew that I had a good game on Friday (against Belmont Abbey) but didn't know it was good enough to be recognized for two Players of the Week; it's awesome to see people recognizing my success and the success of my team," Kremer said. </p><p>"I thought last week was just a lot of fun; we took down the No. 1 team in our conference, Belmont Abbey, and just mentally I was ready to go out there and put balls down because I knew they were going to be a good team." </p><p>Last week Kremer, a 2010 West graduate, tallied 47 kills in three matches, averaging 3.92 kills per set — and all three matches were victories for King College. Two of the matches, against Belmont Abbey and Pfeiffer, were the conference openers for the Tornado, who are on an eight-match winning streak. </p><p>She put down 14 kills and five digs in a 3-2 victory at Virginia-Wise and followed that with 20 kills and eight digs against CC preseason No. 1 Belmont Abbey before getting 13 kills (just two hitting errors) in a 3-0 sweep of Pfeiffer. </p><p>"Last year I had no clue what my role was going to be since I had taken a year off. I was worried about getting into the flow of things again but once I was midway through the season and having a good amount of success, it was neat to have that and feel like I was one of the go-to people on that team," Kremer said. </p><p>Being named MVP of the 2012 season as a sophomore has motivated Kremer to continue to improve in her junior year, as the Tornado were ranked second in the preseason behind Belmont Abbey. </p><p>"I felt pressure coming into this year because last year was so successful, so I'm still just working hard at practice to improve," Kremer said. "Another one of our outside hitters is stepping up, too, so we're almost fighting for that go-to position but it's making me work harder to keep that role." </p><p>Next up for the Tornado (10-3, 2-0 CC) is a trip to Erskine in South Carolina on Friday, then a tri-match with North Greenville and Clark Atlanta on Saturday. </p><p>"We always talk about goals during our preseason retreat, and a lot of us listed one of our goals as winning conference," Kremer said. "We only lost one player from last season, so we have pretty much the same team plus a few added on that have really added to it so far. So hopefully that will push us through the top."</p>